Singaporeís Envoy Pushes For Free-Trade Accord by Larry Luxner Singapore, the worldís only true city-state and one of the most prosperous nations in Southeast Asia, could sign a historic free-trade accord (FTA) with the United States as early as this June. Thatís the optimistic prediction of Chan Heng Chee, Singaporeís veteran ambassador to the United States, who noted that until now, the United States has free-trade agreements in place with only four countries: Canada, Mexico, Israel and Jordan. In a lengthy interview on Feb. 20, Chee said that an FTA would only solidify the rock-solid relationship between the United States and Singapore, which despite its small size, now ranks as Americaís 10th-largest trading partner. Most of the $42.2 billion in bilateral trade last year was concentrated in high-tech exports, such as printed-circuit boards, semiconductors and telecom equipment. ìThis will be the first bilateral free-trade agreement the United States will sign with an Asian country,î said Chee, who took up her current appointment in July 1996. ìIt is strategically significant. We see the U.S.-Singapore FTA as a way of anchoring the U.S. economic presence in the Asia-Pacific region. This is especially important when yo u have a new emerging presence in China.î Chee, like 75 percent of her fellow Singaporeans, is ethnic Chinese. Another 15 percent are ethnic Malays, 8 percent are ethnic Indians and the remaining 2 percent are of European or other origin. Together, the 4 million citizens of Singapore (as well as an estimated 17,000 Americans living there) enjoy a quality of life unmatched elsewhere in Asia, with outstanding public services, squeaky-clean streets and nearly universal Internet access. According to The Economist, Singaporeís per-capita income of $30,170 is the seventh highest in the world, behind Luxembourg, Switzerland, Bermuda, Norway, Denmark and Japanóand just ahead of the United States. Its $96 billion gross domestic product is the 38th largest in the world, and from 1990 to 1998, Singaporeís economy grew at an average annual rate of 8.5 percent, second in the world only to China, whose economy grew by an average 11.2 percent over the same period. The country, which is three and a half times the size of Washington, D.C., ranks second only to Hong Kong on the economic freedom index, published by the conservative Heritage Foundation, and third in the 2002 A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index, trailing only Ireland and Switzerland. And when it comes to defense issues, Singapore is solidly pro-Americanóall of which make it an ideal candidate for an FTA. ìSingapore is a very open country,î said Chee. ìWe observe high standards in labor and the environment. It would be difficult to see why Singapore would be a threat to jobs or U.S. interests.î Yet not everyone in Washington favors globalization and free trade. The Clinton administration struggled for years to push through an FTA with Chile, South Americaís most advanced economy, to no avail. A bill that would give the current president fast-track authority to negotiate FTAs with foreign governments has passed the House of Representatives but hasnít yet made it through the Senate. The fact that the U.S. economy has fallen on hard times makes such an agreement with Singapore even more imperative, said Chee. ìYou need a strategic presence in different parts of the world,î she said. ìIn many of these countries, trade really is the lifeline to economic development. Political leaders understand this, but how do you explain it to your constituents when they lose jobs? Itís a question of how you package things.î Thereís also some concern in the United States about Singaporeís authoritarian style of government and restrictions on the press. Americans still vaguely remember the 1994 caning of Michael Fay, the Ohio teenager who was flogged six times and sentenced to a short prison term for vandalizing cars and stealing highway signs. Under Singapore law, while caning is mandatory in cases of vandalism, rape and weapons offenses, it is also administered for routine immigration violations, such as overstaying visas and the hiring of illegal workers. The death penalty is automatic for drug trafficking and firing a weapon while committing a crime. While such measures may seem harsh, most Singaporeans accept their brand of justice as a part of life, and many credit the system with bringing crime rates down. By the same token, restrictions on the media are also seen as the price for political stability. ìWhen you are a multiracial society, 75 percent Chinese in a region surrounded by Muslims, you have to be politically sensitive. The basis of your survival is at stake,î said Chee. ìBeing a city-state is not a normal proposition, and you have to be extraordinary to survive. Given our history and the way we became a nation, we canít take this for granted.î Singapore, which broke away from the 2-year-old Malaysian Federation in 1965, has had only two leaders as an independent nation. The first was Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew, whose rather authoritarian rule began in 1959ówhen Singapore became a self-governing parliamentary democracy under the British Commonwealthóand ended with his resignation in November 1990. The second was Goh Chok Tong, who succeeded Yew and remains firmly in control. ìUp until 1965, Singapore never saw itself as an independent nation,î said the ambassador. ìWe had no resources, and maybe that was our saving grace. Because we did not have large deposits of oil or forests, we really had to live by our wits, and people had to work hard. So the political leadership which took the reins of government at independence emphasized the building up of human resources and the value of education. ìEvery few years, we review and remake ourselves, because we always want to be ahead of the curve,î Chee explained. ìWe are developing the new economy, but we do not reject the sectors we have already developed. We just add on.î An academic by training, Chee was educated at both the University of Singapore and Cornell University and later became executive director of the Singapore International Foundation and director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Chee began her diplomatic career in 1989 when she was appointed Singaporeís permanent representative to the United Nations. She has since written a number of books and articles on international affairs. Her latest book, ìA Sensation of Independence,î is a biography of David Marshall, a Sephardic Jew of Iraqi origin who was active in island politics in the 1950s and helped set the stage for Singaporeís eventual independence. ìWe are a very socially organized and disciplined society, and I think Americans find that a little hard to understand,î she said. ìAlthough when Americans go to Singapore, they often remark how relaxed the people are.î Chee added that ìSingapore has loosened up a lotî in recent years, and that ìthereís much less censorship today than there was 10 years ago.î Yet pockets of instability persist. In mid-January, officials arrested 15 alleged members of a terrorist cell planning to bomb Western embassies, U.S. naval vessels and a bus that transports U.S. military personnel. According to Singapore authorities, the terrorist group was also planning attacks on a number of non-American targets, among them, buildings housing the diplomatic representatives of Great Britain, Israel and Australia. Under Singapore law, the 13 men still being held may be detained for two years without formal charges, said Chee. ìOur arrests also led to arrests elsewhere,î the ambassador noted. ìThe people who were arrested were Singapore citizens of Malay descent. Their leadership was linked to Jamaah Islamiyah, which has cells in Malaysia and Indonesia. We gave the Philippines some information, and that led to the uncovering of explosives linked to al Qaeda.î Since then, Chee said, ìU.S. companies have expressed their confidence in the Singapore government, and U.S. Ambassador Frank Levin said that after Sept. 11, no place on Earth is perfectly safe, but that Singapore is as good as it gets.î Chee said sheís equally confident that Singapore will sign an FTA with the United States by midyearóan optimism she also bases on the recent change of leadership in the White House. ìThe Bush administration is taking the lead in explaining the linkage between trade and the health of the American economy,î Chee said. ìClinton also tried to promote trade diplomacy, but his natural constituency was Democrats and groups like the AFL-CIO, and I think that limited some initiative.î If an FTA is signed, it wonít come a moment too soon for Singapore, wh ich has been hurt by economic slowdown in Japan. Its unemployment rate of 4.5 percent is dangerously high by Singapore standards, and devaluation of the Singapore dollar has caused per-capita income to dropóalthough Chee said a lifting of barriers to business will help generate more intra-regional trade. ìMany of the countries in the region are in fact working toward signing FTAs with each other. Singapore signed an FTA with New Zealand in 2000, and we just initialed an FTA with Japan in January,î said Chee. ìWe are currently negotiating FTAs with Canada, Mexico and Australia. At a time when other people are closing borders, Singapore is unusually open.î For the United States, she said, the benefits of a free-trade accord are obvious and immediate. ìThe FTA gives you an anchor in the region, and itís a signal that the U.S. economic presence is serious and will be permanent. It will help the U.S. start working toward FTAs with other countries, such as the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. In view of how slow the World Trade Organization is going, a free-trade agreement is the mechanism by which you push toward trade liberalization,î said Chee, who oversees an embassy staff of 40, as well as a Singapore Economic Development Board with offices in Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston. Asked when sheíll return to Singapore permanently, Chee said sheíd like to, but that sheís not quite ready. ìBecause of the FTA, I will stay a little longer,î said the ambassador. ìI have to complete this project and see it through Congress.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.